Marriage is a Civil Right
LGBT Americans work hard, take care of their families, and pay their taxes every year. Yet, their families are not included in the very policies they help fund. Their loved ones are treated like legal strangers and denied the economic and social protections given to heterosexual couples.
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. constitution guarantees equal protection under the law to all citizens. Join The Impact Chicago will not be satisfied until America lives up to its principles and recognizes full legal equality for LGBT people in all matters governed by law, including marriage equality.
In Illinois...
For the first time, a marriage equality bill has been introduced into the Illinois State Senate. State Senator Steans' bill, SB 2468, will have its house counterpart introduced by State Rep Greg Harris, who has introduced a similar bill into several consecutive legislative sessions.
We thank these reps for their work and encourage them to push this important legislation as forcefully as possible! However, we recognize that state level victories are vulnerable to ballot initiative overrides, as we saw in California and Maine, and that same sex marriages recognized by any individual state are utterly ignored at the federal level. State-level victories are not enough.
On a Federal level...
It doesn't matter how long a same-sex couple has been together, come Tax Day they are considered single by the federal government. As single people, they must pretend their finances and their futures are not intertwined and forgo access to the many economic safety nets their tax dollars help fund. Social Security survivor benefits, estate tax deferral when inheriting property, and the ability to file taxes jointly are all denied. Every year, LGBT people are forced to pay taxes on their partner's health care benefits as if it were additional income. Opposite sex couples are exempt from this unfair taxation.
Even in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa and Vermont, where same-sex marriages are recognized by the state, they are not recognized by the federal government, so same-sex couples are still deprived of all of the federal-level responsibilities and rights. LGBT citizens pay the same taxes, but are deprived of critical rights.
Why? Thank DOMA.
Most of the issues have come about because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. DOMA states that other states don't have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, and the federal goverment WILL NOT recognize a same-sex marriage, period.
Currently there is no amendment in the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as only between a man and woman (as there are in 29 states, including Illinois). Logically, it should follow that repealing DOMA would allow the federal rights to be extended to same-sex couples who marry in states where it is allowed.
Obama has promised to repeal it...
"Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions." - From whitehouse.gov
... but that doesn't mean we can't remind him every chance we get!
Here are a few of the 1,138 Federal rights same-sex couples are denied every day...
Federal Taxes
Married same-sex couples are
not eligible to file federal taxes
jointly. This is especially
significant when the two
partners’ incomes differ
dramatically, such as in the case
of a stay-at-home parent.
Social Security
LGBT people pay the same Social Security taxes, but do not have access to the spousal protections Social Security provides to heterosexual people, including the lump sum survivor benefit generally used for funeral expenses and access to a deceased spouse’s higher monthly benefit.
Immigration Equality
A US citizen cannot sponsor their same-sex partner for immigration purposes. All too often LGBT people find themselves in heart wrenching dilemmas, forced to choose between their country and the person they love.
Inheritance Rights
Current tax law allows a spouse to inherit an unlimited amount without incurring an estate tax. Same-sex couples are denied this right, as well as Tenancy by the Entirety, which ensures that debt inherited cannot be enforced against the couple’s jointly owned property.
Family Health Care
Some employers extend health insurance benefits to same-sex couples, but this trend is undermined by the federal government’s insistence on taxing domestic partner benefits are as additional compensation.
Right to Travel
Most people in America can move and travel between states knowing that their legal rights will come with them. LGBT people cannot make that assumption. Is a better job worth losing family health insurance? If there's an accident during a family vacation, will one partner be denied hospital visitation?
Open Military Service
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell deprives LGBT Americans of their right to serve their country openly. forcing loyal American soldiers to lie by omission.
These facts were mostly taken from the Tax Day handout found here.